Youth advised to invest in agriculture, tourism

By Henry Sekanjako

The deputy governor bank of Uganda Louis Kasekende has advised youth in Uganda to consider investing in the Agriculture and tourism sectors as a way of overcoming unemployment

Speaking during a career fair organized by digital opportunity trust (DOT) Uganda for the unemployed youth recently, Kasekende advised the youth to pay attention to agricultural and tourism which he said are the economic back-bone of Uganda.

“Much of the job growth achieved by the Ugandan economy has been derived from shifting workers from lower productivity agricultural jobs into low productivity informal urban jobs and microenterprises,” said Kasekende.

Kasekende noted that, with the increasing number of university graduates in the country, there was need for the youth to develop skills on how to create their own jobs using the available avenues and resources.

He added that using the Agriculture credit facility, youth can acquire long term loans to finance projects engaged in agriculture and agro processing on more favorable terms.

“With the recent signing of the protocol for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union, the EAC has opened up a whole range of opportunities for the youth in terms of employment and a wider market for their products and services,” he assured.

Kasekende told the youth, that skills requirements were becoming more sophisticated with the few job openings where most employers are now focusing their employment on recruiting experienced and skilled manpower.

“You need a very good foundation at first degree level and additional qualifications plus technical skills which have now become almost a requirement to effectively compete in the job market,” he added.

He commended DOT –Uganda for mentoring, coaching and training the graduates under the program DOT –interns to prepare them for leadership roles in the communities.